17.4M broadband users as of 2002
Broadband (which makes your experience up to 10 times as fast as your regular dialup connection at about two to three times the price) is finally beginning to take off as significantly more of the country now has access to it -- via cable for some 80% of all cable users, and DSL for 60% of the country -- according to this Wall Street Journal story (subscription required):
Even so, cable is often the better option for consumers. For one thing, the connection speeds tend to be faster than DSL (although cable networks are also more susceptible to slowdowns if all of your neighbors start surfing at the same time). Cable also has a more basic advantage: The service is available in more parts of the country.
...Consumers are responding. Last year, cable and DSL companies added 6.4 million subscribers -- their biggest year ever -- for a total of 17.4 million users according to Leichtman Research Group.